Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SYSTEM AND METHOD OF NOTIFYING
UNPUBLISHED SUBSCRIBERS OF REQUESTS
FOR CONTACT INFORMATION
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates generally to telecommunications and more
particularly to contacting subscribers of telecommunications services without
revealing unpublished contact information.
[0002] Conventional landline telecommunications systems have been in
existence for many years. Landline telecommunications involve the physical
coupling through a conductive medium, such as a copper wire or optical fiber,
between locations having transceiving equipment, such as telephones. Until
fairly recently, most non-military communications have occurred via landlines.
More recently, radio frequency-based communications have becorne
commercially viable for the mass market. This form of analog or digital
communication requires no physical conduction medium and so is termed
"wireless." Wireless communications free the user from the obligation of
remaining proximate to the base equipment associated with landline
communications. Insfiead, signal transmission occurs via satellites, wireless
booster towers, and miniaturised transceivers that form part of the mobile
wireless communication equipment.
[0003] In order for communications to occur between two or more locations
having telecommunications equipmenfi, it has been necessary for at least one
of those locations to know the contact information (telephone number, e-mail
address, etc.) for the other location or locations to be contacted. This need
gave rise to the development of databases or directories of contact
information for specific telecommunications system-equipped locations. One
obvious example of such a database or directory is the telephone book, which
provides a listing of contact telephone numbers for individuals and businesses
within a specified region. Additionally, local and national directory
assistance
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providers generate and supply contact information upon telephonic request.
In operation, communicators of directory assistance service providers retrieve
from a series of database choices the information of interest and convey it to
the interested party.
[0004] Some estimates indicate that as many as ten billion calls are made
for directory assistance for telephone numbers per annum throughout the
world, indicating the importance of such contact information. Further, as use
of the Internet expands, alternative databases of telephone numbers,
facsimile numbers, e-mail addresses, web site addresses, and the like are
made accessible by way of computer devices, such as personal computers.
Necessarily, given the scope of interest in obtaining such contact information
telephonically and by computer, the value of directory assistance providers
has increased.
[0005] However, many subscribers of telecommunications service wish to
prevent widespread dissemination of their contact information for various
reasons such as privacy concerns, desire to prevent unsolicited calls, etc.
Telecommunications service providers accommodate these subscribers by
not publishing their contact information. lJnpublished or "unlisted" contact
information cannot be disseminated by directory assistance providers,
meaning that directory assistance requesfiors of unpublished information are
denied access to the contact information.
[0006] Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a system and method in
which unpublished subscribers (i.e., subscribers for whom contact information
is not published) can be contacted without revealing the unpublished contact
information.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The above-mentioned need is met by the present invention, which
provides a system and method in which unpublished subscribers of
telecommunications services are able to receive a notification that an
individual is trying to contact them, via directory assistance or a web-based
request. The notification can be marked as being an emergency, urgent
business, personal or other. The unpublished subscriber receiving such a
notification has the choice to call back or ignore the request. The system
provides the notification without revealing the unpublished contact
information.
[0008] The present invention and its advantages over the prior art will be
more readily understood upon reading the following detailed description and
the appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRA1~IINGS
[0009] The subject matter that is regarded as the invention is particularly
pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding part of the
specification.
The invention, however, may be best understood by reference to the following
description talcen in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures in
which:
[0010] Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram of a first embodiment of a
subscriber notification system.
[0011] Figure 2 depicts a representative nofiification message screen.
[0012] Figure 3 is a schematic block diagram of a second embodiment of a
subscriber notification system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0013] Referring to the drawings wherein identical reference numerals
denote the same elements throughout the various views, Figure 1 shows a
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first embodiment of a telecommunications system 10 for sending unpublished
subscribers a secure notification message (in the form of a text message) that
a request has been made for their unpublished contact information. The
system 10 includes a central network station 20. The network station 20 is a
computing device (or a coordinated collection of plural computing devices)
having mass storage capability and means for carrying out software-based
instructions. The network station 20 is preferably a minicomputer or a
mainframe computer but is not limited thereto. The network station 20 is
programmable to receive and , store contact information including, but not
limited to, the access numbers of any of a plurality of communication devices
30 (identified by the abbreviation "C~" in the drawings) used by subscribers
of
various service providers and contact-identifying information associated with
those numbers, e.g., the subscriber's name and address. The system 10 can
operate with any number of telecommunications service providers,
represented in Figure 1 by service provider database or local exchange
carrier stations 40. Each service provider station 40 is typically associated
with a multitude of the subscriber communication devices 30. In this
embodiment, the subscriber communication devices 30 can be any type of
communications device (landline telephone, wireless telephone, pager, etc.)
capable of receiving te~;t messages.
[0014] The contact information corresponding to each communication
device 30 is obtained by the network station 20 through the respective service
provider stations 40. The network station 20 preferably includes
telecommunications routing and switching equipment so as to be capable of
operating as a telecommunications station. Therefore, the network station is
assured of gaining access to the contact information of the service providers'
subscribers because it is a matter of legislative obligation that such service
providers provide to any other telecommunications service provider the
contact information of its subscribers. The system 10 includes a
router/Communicator Identification Code (CIC) switch station 50 that enables
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the central network station 20 to interface with the service provider stations
40.
[0015] The contact information received by the central network station 20
from the service provider stations 40 is formatted as necessary to enable
various directory assistance service providers (collectively represented in
Figure 1 by a single site 60, although it should be understood that multiple
directory assistance service providers can interface with the central network
station 20) to interface with the network station 20 and query it for contact
information, possibly in exchange for a fee. The manipulation of that
information results in a unified database of telecommunications device users.
In effect, the network station 20 is a routing, switching, data storage, and
interface system. All communications with the various stations to which the
central station 20 is coupled may occur through digital, analog, T1, T3, CATS,
frame-based data transporfi protocols, asynchronous mode transport
protocols, among others. The cenfiral network station 20 periodically polls
the
service provider stations 40 (preferably one or more times per day) and is
continuously accessible by directory assistance provider contact sites 60
worldwide so as to provide essentially real-time contact information.
[0010] ~irectory assistance providers can provide individual users access
to the system 10 through a variety of means. Two primary directory
assistance access means include a "call center" approach in which a user or
requestor contacts the directory assistance provider contact site 60 directly
by
calling the site 60 with a landline or wireless telephone 70 and a "web
portal"
approach in which the requestor uses a web-enabled device 80 such as a
personal computer, P~A, web-enabled wireless phone or the like to contact
the site 60 via the Internet 90 (or other computer network). Alternatively, a
requestor can directly access a web portal provided on the central network
station 20 using the web-enabled device 80. It should be noted that the
directory assistance provider contact sites 60 could also connect to the
central
network station 20 via the Internet 90.
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[0017] The components of the system 10 described herein operate in
conjunction such that contact information may be transmitted, stored, or
retrieved, or any combination thereof. Means such as software is employed
to establish the interrelationships among the network station 20, subscriber
communication devices 30, service provider stations 40, and directory
assistance provider contact sites 60. Those skilled in the art of software
development will readily ascertain the details of programming the exchange of
information based upon the following exemplar representation of the operation
of the system 10.
[0018] In operation, a requestor contacts the directory assistance provider
contact site 60 using the telephone 70 or web-enabled device 80 (or any other
suitable means) to request the contact information (such as wireless number,
landline number, fax number, email address, shipping address, vacation
number, temporary number, emergency number, personal directory number,
and pager number) of a particular telecommunications service subscriber.
The directory assistance provider contact site 60 then interfiaces with the
central network station 20 to search the collection of subscriber contact
information stored therein. If that particular subscriber's contact
information is
published, then the direct assistance provider simply provides the requested
information in the normal manner. However, if that particular subscriber's
contact information is unpublished (i.e., unlisted), fihen the directory
assistance provider will notify the requestor that the requested information
is
unpublished and cannot be given out. The directory assistance provider will
also provide the requestor with an opportunity to indirectly send the
particular
subscriber a secure notification message (in the form of a text message)
preferably, but not necessarily, in exchange for a fee. Through the
notification
message, the requestor will be able to communicate to the subscriber a
request that the subscriber contact the requestor.
[0019] Another possible feature of the present invention would be to give
unpublished subscribers the option' of electing not to receive any
notification
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messages. Unpublished subscribers electing this option would be identified in
the system as being "locked out." In this case, when a request is made for the
contact information of an unpublished subscriber having locked out status, the
directory assistance provider will simply notify the requestor that the
requested information is unpublished and cannot be given out. The requestor
will be not given an opportunity to indirectly send the particular subscriber
a
secure notification message.
[0020] If the requestor declines the offer to indirectly send a notification
message, then the process stops at that point. If the requestor accepts the
offer to indirectly send a notification message, the information relating to
the
notification message is collected. Specifically, the content of the
notification
message is ascertained. This is preferably done through a notification
message screen generated by the central network station 20. If the requestor
has contacted the directory assistance provider contact site 60 using the
telephone ~0, then the notification message screen appears to the directory
assistance operator (who has accessed the network station 20 via the
Internet). The directory assistance operator obtains the pertinent message
information from the requestor over the telephone connection and enters this
information into the notification message screen. If the requestor has
contacted the directory assistance provider contact site 60 using fihe web-
enabled device $0, then the notification message screen appears on the
display of the web-enabled device 80 and the requestor enters the pertinent
message information directly into the notification message screen. The later
process would be the case regardless of whefiher the requestor accessed the
system via a web portal operated by the directory assistance provider or a
web portal running on the central network station 20.
[0021 ] Figure 2 shows a representative notification message screen. The
notification message screen has a number of text boxes in which the
requestor/directory assistance operator is able to enter information about the
notification message. These boxes include: a Name box 11 in which the
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requestor's name is entered, a Call Back Number box 12 in which an access
number (e.g., for a telephone, pager or the like) at which the requestor can
be
reached is entered, and a Secondary Call Back Number box 13 in which an
additional access number at which the requestor can be reached can be
entered. The notification message screen also includes a Subject box 14 in
which a brief message identifier is entered; the Subject box 14 can be set up
to always display a brand identifier for the notification messaging service. A
Message Type box 15 is provided for tagging the type of message. This can
be in the form of a pull-down menu having numerous tag options such as
Emergency, Urgent, Personal, and Business. A Message box 16 is provided
in which the text message the requestor wishes to relay to the subscriber is
entered. The notification message screen also includes a Count box 17 that
displays a running total of the alpha-numeric characters of the message
entered in the Message box 16. This count is useful to the requestor/directory
assistance operator when entering the message because text messages are
generally limited to a maximum number of alpha-numeric characters (typically
150 characters). The notification message screen can include branding
information 18, as shown in the upper right corner, such as service provider
logos and such.
[0022] The notification message screen includes a Send button 21 and a
Cancel button 22. ~nce all of fihe message information has been entered, the
requestor/directory assistance operator selects or "clicks on" the Send button
21 to send the notification message. The Cancel button 22 can be clicked at
anytime prior to clicking the Send button 21 to cancel the message. When the
Send button 21 is clicked, the notification message screen is replaced on the
directory assistance operator display or the display of the web-enabled device
80, depending on by which means the requestor has accessed the system 10,
with a confirmation screen. The confirmation screen gives the requestor a
last opportunity to cancel the message or to send the message and to accept
the charges if a fee is applied.
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[0023] To send the message, the central network station 20 identifies the
subscriber's telecommunications service provider and access number from
the information stored in the network station 20. The network station 20 then
sends an e-mail containing the notification message to the subscriber's
access number at the telecommunications service provider's text messaging
domain. Any form of text messaging, such as SMS (Short Messaging
Service), can be employed. The e-mail travels over the Internet backbone to
the telecommunications service provider's text messaging domain. At the
telecommunications service provider's text messaging domain, the e-mail is
transmitted over the appropriate communication network (e.g., CDMA, TDMA,
GSM, etc.) to the subscriber's communication device 30. The intended
subscriber thus receives the notification message. Because the e-mail
containing the notification message originated at the central network station
20, the unpublished contact information is not revealed to the requestor and
is
thus secure.
[0024] In many instances, the central network station 20 will be able to
obtain or have access to the subscriber's regular e-mail address. In such
cases, the central network station 20 could optionally send an e-mail
containing the notification message to the subscriber's regular e-mail address
in addition to the text message sent to the subscriber's communication device
30. The additional e-mail notification would thus serve as a supplement or
back-up to the text message.
[0025] When the subscriber receives the notification message on the
communication device 30, he or she has the option of saving the text
message on the communication device 30 or deleting the text message. The
subscriber also has the option of contacting the requestor at the numbers)
provided or ignoring the request. Preferably, the subscriber receiving a
notification message is not charged a fee. However, the subscriber has the
further option of using the system 10 to return the call; that is, causing the
central network station 20 to connect the subscriber's communication device
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30 to the requestor's contact number. If choosing this option, the subscriber
could further elect to block the Caller ID function. The subscriber could be
charged a fee for this service.
[0026] Referring now to Figure 3, a second embodiment of a
telecommunications system 110 for sending unpublished subscribers a
secure notification message (at least partially in the form of a voice
message)
that a request has been made for their unpublished contact information. The
system 110 includes a central network station 120. The network station 120
is a computing device (or a coordinated collection of plural computing
devices) having mass storage capability and means for carrying out software-
based instructions. The network station 120 is preferably a minicomputer or a
mainframe computer but is not limited thereto. The network station 120 is
programmable to receive and store contact information including, but not
limited to, the access numbers of any of a plurality of communication devices
130 used by subscribers of various service providers and contact-identifying
information associated with those numbers, e.g., the subscriber's name and
address. The system 110 can operate with any number of
telecommunications service providers, represented in Figure 3 by service
provider database or local ea<change carrier stations 140. Each service
provider station 140 is associated with a mulfiitude of the subscriber
communication devices 130. In this embodiment, the subscriber
communication devices 130 can be any type of communications device
(landline telephone, wireless telephone, pager, etc.) capable of receiving
voice mail messages.
[0027] The contact information associated with the subscriber
communication devices 130 is obtained by the network station 120 through
the respective service provider stations 140. The network station 120
preferably includes telecommunications routing and switching equipment so
as to be capable of operating as a telecommunications station. Therefore, the
network station 120 is assured of gaining access to the contact information of
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the service providers' subscribers because it is a matter of legislative
obligation that such service providers provide to any other
telecommunications service provider the contact information of its
subscribers. The system 110 includes a routerlCommunicator Identification
Code (CIC) switch station 150 that enables the central network station 120 to
interface with the service provider stations 140.
[0028] The contact information received by the central network station 120
from the service provider stations 140 is formatted as necessary to enable
various directory assistance service providers (collectively represented in
Figure 3 by a single site 160, although it should be understood that multiple
directory assistance service providers can interface with the central network
station 120) to interface with the network station 120 and query it for
contact
information, possibly in exchange for a fee. The directory assistance provider
contact sites 160 preferably interface with the central network station 120
via
the Internet. The manipulation of that information results in a unified
database
of telecommunications device users. In effect, the network station 120 is a
routing, switching, data storage, and interface system. All communications
with the various stations to which the central station 120 is coupled may
occur
through digital, analog, T1, T3, CATS, frame-based data transport protocols,
asynchronous mode transport protocols, among others. The central network
station 120 periodically polls the service provider stations 140 (preferably
one
or more times per day) and is confiinuously accessible by directory assistance
provider contact sites 160 worldwide so as to provide essentially real-time
contact information.
[0029] In this embodiment, directory assistance providers provide
individual users access to the system 110 through a "call center" approach in
which a user or requestor contacts the directory assistance provider contact
site 160 directly by calling the site 160 with a landline or wireless
telephone
170. The system 110 further includes a voice recorder 175 that interfaces
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with the central network station 120. The purpose of the voice recorder 175 is
described below.
[0030] The components of the system 110 described herein operate in
conjunction such that contact information may be transmitted, stored, or
retrieved, or any combination thereof. Means such as software is employed
to establish the interrelationships among the network station 120, subscriber
communication devices 130, service provider stations 140, directory
assistance provider contact sites 160, and voice recorder 175. Those skilled
in the art of software development will readily ascertain the details of
programming the exchange of information based upon the following exemplar
representation of the operation of the system 110.
[0031] In operation, a requestor contacts the directory assistance provider
contact site 160 using the telephone 170 to request the contact information
(such as wireless number, landline number, fax number, email address,
shipping address, vacation number, temporary number, emergency number,
personal directory number, and pager number) of a particular
telecommunications service subscriber. The directory assistance provider
contact site 160 then interfaces with the central network station 120 to
search
the collection of subscriber contact information stored therein. If that
particular subscriber's contact information is published, then the direct
assistance provider simply provides the requested information in the normal
manner. However, if that particular subscriber's contact information is
unpublished (i.e., unlisted), then the directory assistance provider will
notify
the requestor that the requested information is unpublished and cannot be
given out. The directory assistance provider will also provide the requester
with an opportunity to indirectly send the particular subscriber a secure
notification message (at least partially in the form of a voice message)
preferably, but not necessarily, in exchange for a fee. Through the
notification
message, the requester will be able to communicate to the subscriber a
request that the subscriber contact the requester.
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[0032] If the requestor declines the offer to indirectly send a notification
message, then the process stops at that point. If the requestor accepts the
offer to indirectly send a notification message, the directory assistance
provider connects the requestor to the voice recorder 175, as represented by
the dashed line in Figure 3. The requestor is then prompted to record a
notification message for the subscriber, including one or more call back
numbers that the requestor can be reached at, and then press a certain key
on the telephone 170 when finished with the message. When the requestor
presses the predetermined key, he or she will be able to use various other
keys on the telephone 170 to select options such as save and send the
message, rerecord the message, enter a reply phone number, and delete the
message. When the requestor opts to send the notification message, he or
she can be given a last opportunity to confirm the choice to send the message
and to accept the charges if a fee is applied.
[0033] To send the message, the central network station 120 identifies the
subscriber's telecommunications service provider and access number from
the information stored in the network station 120. The network station 120
then sends an e-mail indicating that the subscriber has a notification message
t~ fihe subscriber's access number at the telecommunicati~ns service
provider's teat messaging domain. Any form of text messaging, such as SMS
(Short Messaging Service), can be employed. The e-mail travels over the
Internet backbone to the telecommunications service provider's text
messaging domain. At the telecommunications service provider's text
messaging domain, the e-mail is transmitted over the appropriate
communication network (e.g., CDMA, TDMA, GSM, etc.) to the subscriber's
communication device 130. The intended subscriber thus receives a text
message indicating that he or she has a voice-recorded notification message.
Because the e-mail originated at the central network station 120, the
unpublished contact information is not revealed to the requestor and is thus
secure.
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[0034] When the subscriber receives the text message on the
communication device 130, he or she has the option of ignoring the message,
listening to the voice message or connecting to the reply number. If the
subscriber elects to listen to the voice message, the communication device
130 is connected to the network station 120. The network station 120 verifies
the subscriber by recognizing the communication device 130 through Caller
ID or by requesting the subscriber to enter the access number of the
communication device 130. After verification, the network station 120
connects the subscriber to the voice message on the voice recorder 175 and
instructs the subscriber to press a particular key on the communication device
130. When the subscriber presses the particular key, he or she will be able to
use various other keys on the communication device 130 to select options
such as repeat the message, save the message, and connect to the requestor
without disclosing the contact information.
[0035] generally, the subscriber receiving a notification message is not
charged a fee. However, the subscriber could be charged a fee for being
connected to the requestor without disclosing the subscriber's contact
information.
[0036] The second embodiment can also be used as an alternative voice
mail system for subscribers of telecommunications services, particularly
telephone service. This usage is applicable to subscribers having published
contact information as well as unpublished subscribers. As is well known,
voice mail service allows a subscriber to receive voice recorded messages
when his or her telephone is turned off, busy, or not answered. Typically,
subscribers are charged an additional monthly fee for voice mail service. The
system 110 can be implemented such that subscribers, both published and
unpublished, can receive voice recorded messages while avoiding additional
monthly fees. Specifically, when an incoming call to a communication device
130 is not answered for whatever reason (e.g., the number is busy, the
telephone is turned ofF, etc.), the caller would be connected to the voice
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recorder 175. The caller is then prompted to record a message for the
subscriber (typically for a fee), in the same manner as that described above
with respect to a directory assistance requestor. When the caller finishes the
message recording process, the system 110 operates in the same manner
described above to send the subscriber a text message that he or she has a
voice-recorded message. The subscriber can then retrieve the message, if
desired, in the same manner described above. This alternative usage of
system 110 can also be employed by having directory assistance providers
provide directory assistance requestors of published with an opportunity to
indirectly send the subscriber a voice-recorded message, preferably in
exchange for a fee.
[0037] While specific embodiments of the present invention have been
described, it will be apparent to those sleilled in the art that various
modifications thereto can be made without departing from the spirit and scope
of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
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